2000.08.22 - The Times Leader - Slash Realizes Dream In Opening For AC/DC

Slash realizes dream in opening for AC/DC

By MICHAEL LELLO
Times Leader Staff Writer

From his own on-stage vantage point, former Guns n’ Roses guitarist Slash says he's unsure how to explain a show by his band, Slash's Snakepit.

“I don't know, I haven't seen us live," says Slash with a laugh during a recent phone interview. ‘It's just a loud, enthusiastic rock band.”

The Snakepit, now Slash's full-time job, was born as a side-project during Guns n' Roses heyday. The group plays the First Union Arena tonight as the opening act for AC/DC, and that in itself is enough to make the guitar-ist-turned-bandleader happy. When he was about 15 years old, Slash says, his formative guitar influences came from The Who, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and AC/DC.

“I hate to be overdramatic, but it's a dream come true playing with AC/DC,” he says. “And, they treat us really well.”

Hanging out for the first time with AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young in an airport bar was another realization of a dream for Slash, admitting he “was nervous as (crap).”

The Snakepit — Slash, Rod Jackson (vocals), Kerry Kelly (rhythm guitars), Johnny Blackout (bass) and Matt Laug (drums) — currently plays an opening set of about 40 minutes. All the material, except for one song, is from the forthcoming Snakepit album “Ain't Life Grand,” slated for an October 10 release. So, it's primarily new material for the audience.

“It's going over great,” Slash says of the fans' response to the brand new tunes. ‘It's really surprising.”

Slash says that the other song is a Guns n' Roses tune. I'm not gonna tell you (which song),” he says. “It should be a surprise.”

As for the current crop of bubble gum teeny-boppers and rap/ rock bands, Slash says he's not surprised that the musical climate is going through another phase, not unlike when hard-rock and metal were kings of the airwaves in the '80s and early '90s.

"I'm patient,” Slash says. “I feel this particular tour is spearheading a resurgence, I can feel it.”

He adds that New Kids On The Block were huge when Guns n' Roses was getting its first taste of success. The contrast in styles of those groups could not be greater, but it didn't bother Slash then, “and it doesn't bother me now,” he says.

Guns n' Roses was clearly one of the most popular bands of its day, but that doesn't have Slash talking reunion. “I don’t see it in the foreseeable future,” he says.

But, if it did come about, he says he wouldn’t let it conflict with Slash's Snakepit, his No. 1 priority. And despite the unlikelihood of seeing Guns n' Roses plowing through songs like "Welcome To The Jungle” on stage, he remains friends with ex-bandmates Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, and Steven Adler. He adds that it wasn't any of those members that caused the group’s breakup.

“The only reason the band broke up was because it was not what (vocalist Axl Rose) wanted to do,” he says.

And while the '80s juggernaut may never rise from the ashes of its breakup, Slash is assured that rock and roll is here to stay.

Says Slash: “It's the dinosaur that wouldn't die.”